WEST MILFORD — Mayor Michele Dale plans to take on the search for the township’s next administrator solo — a decision that does not sit well with members of the council.

The new mayor rejected offers from council members to assist in vetting candidates for the newly vacated position. Dale said her fellow Republicans on the town council set a precedent of non-cooperation when they abruptly removed the former administrator in mid-December. The administrator, she said, works on the mayor’s behalf to run daily operations in the township's form of government.

“I will give the council as much information as I can, and I will make a recommendation for an administrator when I’m ready,” Dale said of her plans for the interview process.

Councilman Lou Signorino said the mayor’s decision is an unfortunate one. Involving council members in a personnel subcommittee with the mayor seemed to work well under former Mayor Bettina Bieri, he said.

For now, however, there are no candidates. An advertisement for the vacant position has yet to be posted on the website for the town or the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

When the ad is posted, the position could be listed without a corresponding salary, Dale said.

Council members have requested information on administrator salaries in the region before they discuss amendments to the town's salary ordinance during their Jan. 23 meeting.

As it stands, the annual compensation for the administrator’s position in West Milford is capped at $37,800.59, local records show.

That salary was equal to the 2018 stipend for Township Clerk Antoinette Battaglia, who had served as administrator for roughly three years before she was removed from the role by a council supermajority in December.

When the town hired its previous administrator, Kenneth Gabbert, the salary range stretched from $70,000 to $144,000.

Gabbert, hired in July 2014, was given an annual salary of $135,000, local records show. The prior year, his predecessor Nancy Gage earned $127,500.

State records show municipal administrators in nearby Passaic County towns have been earning annual salaries about $100,000 or more higher than Battaglia’s $38,000 annual stipend.

Kevin Boyle, a former West Milford Township administrator, made $137,872 in 2017 as Pompton Lakes’ administrator, state records show.

Thomas Carroll, Wanaque’s former administrator, was making $172,924 a year when he retired in 2017. Neal Bellet, Wayne Township administrator, earned $155,076 that year, records show.

In the town’s form of government, the administrator is nominated by the mayor. The appointment, which requires the advice and consent of the council, generally coincides with the mayor’s four-year term. However, the town council can remove the administrator by a two-thirds majority vote.

The position is designed to supervise the town’s various departments, conduct assessments of budget operations, represent the town in negotiations and manage other operational affairs, according to the town code. The code does not require the administrator to be a resident of the township or state, but only with council approval.